Its first incarnation consisted of 5000 transparent cups that hanged over a dark alley in the centre of Lyon. These were filled with a fluorescent solution that glowed in the night in sync with the rhythm and spatiality of a generative soundscape.

The Festival des Lumières attracts over 4 million visitors annually and is one of the biggest international outdoors festivals in the world. The installation was re-created in August 2009 for the Flow Festival in Helsinki, Finland and in November 2011 for the Julstaden light festival in Göteborg, Sweden. The installation was re-created in August 2009 for the Flow Festival in Helsinki, Finland and in November 2011 for the Julstaden light festival in Göteborg, Sweden, and the Luci (Lighting Urban Community International) meeting. It was the first light-based art installation to ever use dynamic UV light or “black” light.

Dånk! Collective (Attaya Projects director Lalya Gaye’s former art collective back in Sweden) worked with making the installation dynamic, spatialised and sonic. As project manager for the Swedish side of the project, Lalya’s specific role was to conceptualise possible user experiences and technical solutions together with the French architects of Metipolis, to set up and coordinate the collaboration between the French and Swedish teams across geographical and linguistic distances, as well as take part in the sound interaction design, dynamic sound mapping and technical implementation.

UV light tubes and bespoke DMX controller

Yellow Splitch tour: Helsinki and Göteborg

Credits

This project was realised with the support of GTM (Grands Travaux de Marseille), CNR (Compagnie Nationale du Rhône), Forclum (Lyon), ENSAL (Lyon National College of Architecture), Collège Ampère and Alain Petitjean (structural engineer).